First Impressions

hjkatz · March 5

First of all this is a very cool game. It has some really unique and new elements, and I think it's going to be great in the future.

This feedback comes after 3 failed games of learning, and 1 actual win

Negative Feedback

I felt limited when I was configuring my settings because I could not bind my mouse and alternate key combos to my will. I suggest the ability to bind alt+key, ctrl+key, shift+key, and mouse bindings. Additionally I would appreciate being able to bind all actions including pings, movement, screen panning, etc...
I felt disoriented when I looked for the time and expected it at the top of the screen with the score board. I understand why the clock is near the map due to how Starcraft is designed. However, I feel with the elements of game play being more team oriented with levels and a scoreboard that the clock would make more sense at the top of the screen similar to other MOBAs.
I felt lost when I thought I had units selected but did not. I feel it is a tad cluttered having the unit selection color be the same as my squad's color. Perhaps if the selection circles brightened, or blinked when moving it would help.
I felt confused during my last game as to the purpose of the "v" deploy mechanic. At no point in the game did I feel a strategic advantage to "saving" to deploy all at once. Additionally I always hit "v" -> "~" to deploy and select all. Perhaps this could be made a setting? Auto-deploy and add to control group 1?
On that last note, perhaps there are to be mechanics added to the deploy option? Perhaps a way to deploy at any base? Or a mobile deploy merc? This might help distinguish deployment as a feature.
Additionally I felt that my army never got large enough to warrant splitting from my hero into 2 armies. Therefore I always deployed to my hero. Not sure if this is intended, but it's what happened
I felt unsure of how to collect and spend resources when playing. To better describe what I mean:
- During the early game I find that I collect a crap ton of scrap, but little gems. I feel this is because of all the gems are blocked by hard camps.
- During the mid game I felt that I was limited by gold with no way to "hurry the game along" to say. This led to some lulls, and doing nothing, or at least feeling as though I was doing nothing.
- During the late game I had a crap ton of gems with no efficient way to spend them. I could buy wards, but I did not see an advantage at the time with bots
- Throughout the game I felt that even if I collected gems, or scrap, or saved up gold, if I was short on just 1 resource I was limited in my decisions and effectiveness. For example, at one point in the game I had 1500 scrap and 12 gems. I wanted to expand or push, but I could not afford any offensive mercs (orion at the time) due to being short gems.
- Finally I felt overwhelmed with the lack of coherence to distinguish how I spent which resource. It felt as if random units required random amounts of random resources. I'm exaggerating here, but I think that a coherent set of symbols or rules that could be applied to all types of resource spending. For example, if gold was always related to "hiring" mercs then I would know to collect more gold if I wanted more mercs. If gems always related to upgrades, then I would know that I need more gems to get better units. And if scrap was always related to building units then I would know to collect scrap to build units.
- I feel that a coherent set of simple rules, symbols, and descriptions would assist in providing a "goal" of things to do with resources. And it would cut down on the hovering over every option and memorizing what takes what to build.
During the late game I felt confused as to how many "things" I could purchase. The number of mercs and units did not stand out enough that I could plan what to purchase.
While playing Grath I found that my units got stuck when trying to charge forward, this was frustrating. In fact it seems that all units in the game are extremely "big" for their size. As an example in Dota the unit size is between 2-4 units for each unit, but the collision detection for spells and abilities is their model size (around 130-200 units). Additionally I was sad that my charge units got stuck behind my own
I find that late game I have a crap ton of one resource or another, but nothing to spend it on that fits my play style. Like I'll need more anti-air, but not enough gems. Or I'll need tanky units but not enough scrap, etc...

Positive Feedback!

I really, really, really like the idea of this 3v3 team rts moba thing. I had zero idea what to expect about Atlas, and I think it's great that it's so unique in style. The map is cool, the squad idea is cool, the units and mercs and charms are cool. This is great!
I really like the simplified base and resource collection. It's a laid back rts, but has brawling aspects. I think the idea of passive resource collection with builders is great. I would like a way to increase my macro abilities though, perhaps a squad designed around bonuses to buildings, towers, and team play?
I really like the mercs. They allow anyone to be useful on their own, and allow for some complex team play. I particularly enjoyed wrecking face with the orions against the bots big colossal flying unit. He wasn't paying attention and it was so satisfying.
Leveling up and firing my ultimate as Vex was very fun. It was a clutch moment and I killed the enemy hero and took their expansion. I really liked that, but I would like it more if the level had an umpf or ding to it.

Suggestions

I know that you don't like unsolicited suggestions, so these are more of things I thought were missing or confusing while playing.

I did not see a clear "path to victory" in both units and literally like where to go on the map? Should I sweep around top? Should I go bottom with my 1v1 mate? I feel that the idea of "lanes" or "choke points" that could guide me to victory would be helpful. Additionally my "super thingy" was being attacked and I didn't even know one existed.
Gems are valuable, but there's no easy way to get them except for brawling. I think that an easy camp or expansion with gems would be a nice addition to the early game. Additionally I found that I was fighting in the middle, but I would like to see more fights over valuable expansions and camps. I think adding easier camps in contested areas might accomplish this.
Planning phase. I think that a planning phase before the game with your allies (eventually when this is competitive) would be a great addition. Random pubbers are known for always playing the carry
On that note I think it would be beneficial to make sure that a single person can always feel effective, even when they're team is losing. I played plant guy for my first 3 games, but I felt that I couldn't really take any actions to advance my own cause. I like that he's a support, but it would be good to allow supports to be able to get gems too :P

Thanks for reading my first impressions. I'll keep adding to these as I play. Great game, looking forward to some pvp on Sunday!

--Katz